Shrimp Spring Rolls

Between college and medical school, I worked as a nurses assistant in the NICU at the University of Washington Medical Center. While learning a ton about medicine and life, I worked with some fantastic nurses who shared with me their love for Vietnamese food. Once a week, we had what we called "VSD" - Vietnamese Sandwich Day. We ordered food from this amazing little Vietnamese restaurant in the U-district called Thanh Vi.

I got slightly addicted to their #3 (shrimp spring rolls), as well as their chicken pho and tasty sandwiches. One day at lunch, my nurse friend, Heidi, taught me how to make them for myself! Modifying a few different recipes and using her special spring roll techniques, I have come up with a delicious spring roll recipe that the hubby and I love!

The recipe and steps are below. While the process takes some practice and trial and error to perfect your own technique, these little rolls are totally worth it!

Ingredients:

Noodles:

Half a package of rice noodles, cooked

1/3 cup chopped fresh Thai basil

1/4 cup chopped chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 medium carrot, diced or julienned

1 serrano pepper, seeds removed, finely diced (wash your hands afterwards - it's spicy!)

1 tsp minced garlic

2 Tablespoons sweet chili sauce

2 Tablespoons fish sauce

2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 Tablespoon lime juice

Sriracha - to taste

Spring Rolls:

Spring roll wraps

Cooked shrimp, halved lengthwise (each roll takes 2 whole shrimp, or 4 halves)

Bean sprouts

Iceberg lettuce leaves, washed, torn into pieces about the size of a deck of cards

Noodle mixture

1 plate with warm water

1 wet paper towel 

Dipping Sauce: (feel free to change amounts/ingredients to suit your taste)

1 Tablespoon of peanut butter (either creamy or chunky)

2 Tablespoons of hoisin sauce

1 Tablespoon sweet chili sauce

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon onion powder

Srirarcha - to taste

(Mix all ingredients together)

Steps

1. Place one wrap into the water on the plate to soften it. Make sure the entire paper is covered. Let it sit for about 5 seconds in the water. When you take it out, the wrap should still be a little stiff so that it doesn't fold on itself.
2. Take the wrap out and place it on the wet paper towel.
3. Layer 4 shrimp halves onto the wrap, about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the wrap
   
                                            
4. Place a handful of the noodle mixture on top of the shrimp
   
                                          
5. Place a few bean sprouts on top of the noodles
   
   
                                          
6. Layer a few pieces of lettuce to cover the entire little pile
   
                                         
7. Roll the wrap: fold the bottom edge of the wrap up to cover the lettuce, and carefully roll the wrap away from you. Fold the two side edges in before closing the wrap

The wraps will keep for a couple of days in the fridge if you wrap them in saran wrap and store them in a Tupperware container.

Hope you enjoy these tasty little spring rolls! Here is the recipe as a JPEG to print:

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